Knock, knock, knock.
A little while later, Zhao Xing'er, who had been fast asleep, heard knocking again. Someone was knocking on the door to her storage room.
"Who is it?" She climbed up groggily and opened the door, but saw no one at first.
Only when she lowered her head did her sleepy eyes make out a little boy in ancient clothing. He wore a neatly arranged scholar's robe, white with red lapels, and had a fair, exquisitely delicate face. His large eyes were dark and bright as he looked up at Zhao Xing'er.
"Whose kid are you?"
Zhao Xing'er squinted, a lock of her long hair sticking up. Her teddy-bear pajamas were all rumpled, and because her legs were too long, they bunched up a little at her ankles. She looked nowhere near fully awake.
The little boy met her gaze, then suddenly called out in a clear voice, "Mom."
"I'm dreaming."
Zhao Xing'er slammed the door shut.
The little boy blinked in confusion, looked around, then walked upstairs with steady steps and knocked on Yue Wen's second-floor door.
Yue Wen was not asleep. He was hard at work comprehending the Visualization Diagram for the Dragon-Snake Escape Art.
Not counting the True Dragon Breath Method, his foundational introductory cultivation method, this was the first of the True Dragon Arcane Arts he had practiced. The moment he entered the Visualization Diagram, he felt the difference.
Obscure Dao Rhythm filled his surroundings, as though he stood amid chaotic rock. Close examination revealed tiny holes of varying sizes, with countless streams of liquid-like golden light flowing through them.
They whistled as they moved.
He felt his body trapped in the rock, unable to move at all. The sensation was quite suffocating.
After experiencing it for a while, Yue Wen realized that the